Saturday's Blurbs feature Books By Joan Hall Hovey #MFRWauthor #Suspense #Murders

And Then He was Gone ~http://a.co/0tc27e7

WHERE IS ADAM?

Julie Raynes’ husband has been missing for six months. Devastated and confused, she refuses to believe that he would leave her voluntarily, though her best friend thinks differently.  However, her Aunt Alice, a psychic, tells her Adam has been murdered, and when she reveals how she knows this, any hope that Adam is still alive, dissipates.  

The police are also beginning to believe that Adam Raynes was murdered. And Julie is their prime suspect.  Her life in ruins, Julie vows to hunt down whoever is responsible for Adam’s murder and make them pay for their crime.

In the meantime, David Gray, a young man who was pulled from a lake by a fisherman when he was 9 years old, wakens from a coma after nearly two decades. Unknown to Julie, Adam and David share a dark connection, a darkness that threatens to devour both of them, in a terrifying race with death.

*****

The Deepest Dark   ~ http://a.co/imUX8go

Following the deaths of her husband, Corey, and ten year old daughter Ellie in a traffic accident,  author Abby Miller sinks ever deeper into depression. She contemplates suicide as a way to be with them, and to end her unrelenting pain.

In a last desperate effort to find peace, she drives to Loon Lake where they last vacationed together, wanting to believe they will be waiting for her there.  At least in spirit.  Barring that, the pills Doctor Gregory gave her to help her sleep, are in her purse.

The cabin at Loon Lake was her and Corey’s secret hideaway, and not even Abby’s sister, Karen, to whom she is close, knows where it is.

But someone else does.  He is one of three men who have escaped from Pennington prison.  They are dangerous predators who will stop at nothing to get what they want - and to keep from going back to prison.   Having already committed atrocious crimes, they have nothing to lose.

Unknowingly, Abby is on a collision course with evil itself. And the decision of whether to live or die will soon be wrenched from her hands.  

And Then He was Gone ~http://a.co/0tc27e7

WHERE IS ADAM?

Julie Raynes’ husband has been missing for six months. Devastated and confused, she refuses to believe that he would leave her voluntarily, though her best friend thinks differently.  However, her Aunt Alice, a psychic, tells her Adam has been murdered, and when she reveals how she knows this, any hope that Adam is still alive, dissipates.  

The police are also beginning to believe that Adam Raynes was murdered. And Julie is their prime suspect.  Her life in ruins, Julie vows to hunt down whoever is responsible for Adam’s murder and make them pay for their crime.

In the meantime, David Gray, a young man who was pulled from a lake by a fisherman when he was 9 years old, wakens from a coma after nearly two decades. Unknown to Julie, Adam and David share a dark connection, a darkness that threatens to devour both of them, in a terrifying race with death.

*****

The Abduction of Mary Rose ~http://a.co/2BhFULE

Imagine discovering everything you believe about yourself to be a lie. And that the truth could stir a killer from his lair.

Following the death of the woman she believed to be her mother, 28-year-old Naomi Waters learns from a malicious aunt that she is not only adopted, but the product of a brutal rape that left her birth mother, Mary Rose Francis, a teenager of Micmac ancestry, in a coma for 8 months.

Dealing with a sense of betrayal and loss, but with new purpose in her life, Naomi vows to track down Mary Rose's attackers and bring them to justice. She places her story in the local paper, asking for information from residents who might remember something of the case that has been cold for nearly three decades.

She is about to lose hope that her efforts will bear fruit, when she gets an anonymous phone call. Naomi has attracted the attention of one who remembers the case well.

But someone else has also read the article in the paper. The man whose DNA she carries.

And he has Naomi in his sights.

*****

Joan Hall Hovey’s Books also available at Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and most online bookstores.

Other books by Joan Hall Hovey:

Defective

Night Corridor

Chill Waters

Nowhere to Hide

Listen to the Shadows

Friday's Guest - Joan Hall Hovey #MFRWauthor #Suspense #What she Was Before

 What were you in your life before you became a writer? Did this influence your writing?

I have an employment history that would give most employers nightmares.  As a young girl I worked as a waitress, hulled strawberries one summer, clerked in a number of uptown stories, graded eggs and eventually becoming a legal secretary, all the time striving to be a writer. The jobs provided a paycheck and writing in the evenings kept the dream alive.  Nothing is lost on the writer, and every job I ever had I’ve pretty much woven into my books in one way or another, through my characters.  For example, in my very first book Listen to the Shadows, Katie, the main character, owns a small café.  Our life experiences and our responses to them are all grist for the writer’s mill.

2.                 2  Are you genre specific or general? Why? I don't mean genres like romance, mystery, fantasy etc. There are many subgenres of the above. 

     My psychological suspense novels often overlap with mystery, paranormal and sometimes there’s a thread of romance woven through.  I don’t choose the type of book I write, but more it chooses me.  I’m drawn to explore the dark side of the human psyche.  

3. Did your reading choices have anything to do with your choice of a genre or genres? 

Yes, I’ve always been a big fan of suspense novels.  Among my favorite novelists are Charlotte Bronte, Edgar Allan Poe, Phyllis Whitney, Ruth Rendell, Mary Higgins Clark and Stephen King.  There are many more.

4. What's your latest release? 

And Then he was Gone

5. What are you working on now? 

I’m working on a screenplay adapted from my novel The Deepest Dark.  

6. Where can we find you? 

www.joanhallhovey.com

"… Joan Hall Hovey knows suspense. She keeps it simmering in every scene she writes and knows just the right moments to turn up the heat and bring it all to a boil. She also knows character, creating richly layered people to populate her books, sometimes with no more than a single sentence stocked with perfectly chosen descriptive words or phrases. THE DEEPEST DARK is a terrific suspense novel.” James Hankins, Author of BROTHERS AND BONES and SHADY CROSS

Review quotes:

oubt that much is more frightening than being alone and away from anyone that might help when you

“…visceral fear is at the heart of The Deepest Dark…Mrs. Hovey is a genius at suspense…`  Lelia Taylor, Buried Under Books

"…Ms. Hovey's talent in creating characters is so real, you feel their emotions and their fears. You want to yell at them to warn of the danger . . . and you do! Your shouts fall on deaf ears . . . and you cry! The best suspense writer I've ever read!
Beth Anderson, Author of Raven Talks back

"...Alfred Hitchcock and Stephen King come to mind, but JOAN HALL HOVEY is in a Class by herself!…"
J.D. Michael Phelps, Author of My Fugitive, David Janssen

"…CANADIAN MISTRESS OF SUSPENSE…The author has a remarkable ability to turn up the heat on the suspense… great characterizations and dialogue…" James Anderson, author of Deadl

“…what a great story! Couldn't put it down… An exciting and suspenseful  ending wraps up this incredible novel.” Lynn Demsky: Book Reporter

Saturday's Blurbs feature books by Joan Hall Hovey #MFRWauthor #BooksWeLove

Suspense novels by Joan Hall Hovey 

http://amzn.com/B005M4W22I  The Abduction of Mary Rose

The Abduction of Mary Rose, published by Books We Love, is a thriller in the tradition of Stephen King and Mary Higgins Clark, written by the Canadian Master of Suspense Joan Hall Hovey.

Following the death of the woman she believed to be her mother, 28-year-old Naomi Waters learns from a malicious aunt that she is not only adopted, but the product of a brutal rape that left her birth mother, Mary Rose Francis, a teenager of Micmac ancestry, in a coma for 8 months.

Dealing with a sense of betrayal and loss, but with new purpose in her life, Naomi vows to track down Mary Rose's attackers and bring them to justice. She places her story in the local paper, asking for information from residents who might remember something of the case that has been cold for nearly three decades.

She is about to lose hope that her efforts will bear fruit, when she gets an anonymous phone call. Naomi has attracted the attention of one who remembers the case well.

But someone else has also read the article in the paper. The man whose DNA she carries.

And he has Naomi in his sights.

Reviews:

"…Ms. Hovey's talent in creating characters is so real, you feel their emotions and their fears. You want to yell at them to warn of the danger . . . and you do! Your shouts fall on deaf ears . . . and you cry!


Alfred Hitchcock and Stephen King come to mind, but JOAN HALL HOVEY is in a Class by herself!…"J.D. Michael Phelps, Author of My Fugitive, David Janssen

"…CANADIAN MISTRESS OF SUSPENSE…The author has a remarkable ability to turn up the heat on the suspense… great characterizations and dialogue…" James Anderson, author of Deadline

"…Can compete with any mystery,suspense novel on the shelves..." Linda Hersey,
Fredericton Gleaner, NB

Night Corridor http://amzn.com/B004NSV6TY

After nine years in Bayshore mental institution, once called the lunatic asylum, Caroline Hill is finally being released.

There will be no one to meet her. Her parents who brought her here…are dead.

They have found her a room in a rooming house, a job washing dishes in a restaurant. She will do fine, they said. But no one told that women in St. Simeon are already dying at the hands of a vicious predator. One, an actress who lived previously in her building.

And others.

And now, as Caroline struggles to survive on the outside, she realizes someone is stalking her.

But who will believe her? She's a crazy woman after all.

Then, one cold winter's night on her way home from her job, a man follows and is about to assault her when a stranger intercedes.

A stranger who hides his face and whispers her name.

 "...Joan Hall Hovey has written yet another winner. I highly recommend it to any lover of suspense, mystery or thriller. You'll not only race through this book, but clamor for more works by this talented and polished author..."   Midwest Books Reviews

http://amzn.com/B0045Y2F5U  Chill Waters

Following the breakup of her marriage, Rachael retreats to the old beachhouse in Jenny's Cove, where she once lived with her grandmother. It is the one place where she had always felt safe and loved. Devasted and lost, Rachael longs for the simplicity of her childhood.

But Jenny’s Cove has changed. From the moment of Rachael’s arrival, a man watches. He has already killed, and mercilessly will do so again. Soon Rachael becomes a target for a vicious predator whose own dark and twisted past forms a deadly bond between them.

And sets her on a collision course with a crazed killer.

"...Joan Hall Hovey is a female Stephen King... a stunning, multi-layered, modern-day gothic, told with the unforgettable style and grace of a true master of suspense..." Rendezvous Magazine


Bloody Dagger Award Winner

Nowhere To Hide

Nowhere to Hide won an Eppie award as the Best Thriller  http://amzn.com/B0045Y2F4G

Val at "You Gotta Read" Reviews has given Nowhere to Hide by Joan Hall Hovey their highest rating, You Gotta Read!

You Gotta Read - Our highest rating - very few books will earn this award.

Val says, "This is one heck of an exciting, edge of your seat read! Nowhere to Hide had EVERYTHING you could want in a suspenseful thriller. The character development in this book is unreal. I was actually holding my breath long before the ending. Ms. Hovey has done an incredible job of getting into the mind of a serial killer. If you haven't gotten this book yet, I highly suggest you do. You will not be disappointed as this is one of the best thrillers I have read yet."

Raised in an atmosphere of violence and unpredictability, Ellen and Gail Morgan have banded together, survivors of a booze-fertilized battleground, forming a fierce united front against an often cold and uncaring world. When their parents are killed in a car crash, Ellen becomes the mother figure for Gail.

When fifteen years later Gail is brutally raped and murdered in her shabby New York basement apartment, practically on the eve of her big breakthrough as a singer, Ellen is inconsolable. Rage at her younger sister's murder has nearly consumed her. So when her work as a psychologist wins her an appearance on the evening news, Ellen seizes the moment. Staring straight into the camera, she challenges the killer to come out of hiding: "Why don't you come after me? I'll be waiting for you."

Phone calls flood the station, but all leads go nowhere. The police investigation seems doomed to failure. Then it happens: a note, written in red ink, slipped under the windshield wipers of her car, 'YOU'RE IT.' Ellen has stirred the monster in his lair … and the hunter has become the hunted!

"If you are looking for the suspense thriller of the year-look no further…you will find it in Nowhere To Hide..."Jewel Dartt Midnight Scribe Reviews

Listen to the Shadows  http://amzn.com/B00466HZPC

SOMEONE WAS STALKING HER. NOW HE'S FOUND HER...

When artist Katie Summers emerged from a four-day coma, she remembered all too vividly the horror of that night - the terrifying dead eyes that had stared back at her in the rear view mirror, causing her to crash her car. But nobody believed her. Even the enigmatic and disturbingly attractive psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Shea, implied that she had made the whole thing up. Or dreamed it.

Released from the hospital, still weak from her ordeal, Katie took a taxi to her remote farmhouse on Black Lake. Darkness had already fallen. There was only the wind in the trees to greet her...and the cold and empty house.

But the house was not quite empty. Something awaited her, upstairs in her bedroom. Something with cold, dead eyes...

"...a work so accomplished, so fluid and so suspenseful it is difficult to believe it really is a first novel!"-Felix Griffin - Rave Reviews, NY

Defective http://amzn.com/B00CO81XAW

Therapist Melanie Snow is driving to her office when her Honda is struck by a dark-colored van and sent spinning into a ditch, where it catches fire. The driver never stops. A passerby pulls Melanie from the car just seconds before it explodes.

Waking from the coma nine days later, she is devastated to find she is blind.

As Melanie struggles to cope with her new reality, life as a blind woman, her fragile state of mind is further threatened by a madman who is stalking and strangling disabled women. The first two victims were mentally challenged and Detective Matt O’Leary, who carries a torch for Melanie, (even though Melanie is engaged to someone else) tells himself she is not the killer’s targeted prey. But then a woman who lost a leg to cancer is murdered, and another physically disabled woman is stalked. Even with a whole town in terror, Melanie refuses to live her life in fear and reopens her practice in the basement of her home. She has a living to earn.

And Detective Matt O’Leary must find a way to keep Melanie safe until the monster is caught. But how? Her door is now open to the public and the killer can just walk through anytime he chooses.

And he does.

Reviews

“…suspense that puts her right up there with the likes of Sandford and Patterson..." Ingrid Taylor for Small Press Review

Available on Amazon.com Amazon.ca Barnes and Noble and other online and brick and mortar bookstores.

Friday - Joan Hall Hovey is talking about Heroes, Heroines and Villains #BooksWeLove #MFRWauthor

1.      Do you write a single genre or do your fingers flow over the keys creating tales in many forms? Does your reading choices reflect your writing choices? Are there genres you wouldn’t attempt?

The suspense genre allows me to explore the deepest and darkest corners of the human psyche.  It’s such a wonderful genre to work in because I can weave in paranormal, romance, mystery… I’m only limited by my imagination, which is pretty active..   The one genre I’m not likely to attempt writing in  is  erotica.  I don’t enjoy reading it,  so wouldn’t do it justice..  

 

2.      Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write? Does one of these come easy and why?

None of it comes easy to me.  I find writing a novel to be very hard work,  though it’s work that I also find more satisfying than any other.  A big part of my difficulty is that I tend to get in my own way, and start second – guessing myself.  It’s not easy putting your work (yourself) out there, never knowing if it will be praised or ridiculed. You just have to rise above the fear and do what you know how to do when all cylinders are firing.  Those times are the rewards of being a writer and well worth fighting through the droughts.

 As for a preference between writing from a heroine’s point of view or the villain’s,  – .they are all people and their emotions run the gamut from love to jealousy, envy and hatred – emotions we can all relate to.  It’s all a matter of degree.

 

3.      Heroes. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the man you want every reader to love? Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

I don’t think you can create a hero, or a villain for that matter, that every reader will love so I don’t try to do that. Instead,  If I create characters that I find appealing and interesting, there’s a good chance others will too.

 

4. Heroines. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman you want the reader to root for? Do they appear before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?   The characters and the story thread sort of weave themselves into one another, constantly changing and shifting until a story begins to solidify in my imagination.  During this time I’ m making copious notes and my subconscious, now that it knows I’m serious because I’m showing up for work everyday,  is also working to help me.  Now I begin writing.   That can take weeks, even months.  And then come the revisions and edits. 

 

4.      Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do you choose one? How do you make them human?

I draw deeply on my own life.  That’s really all we have.  Who we are in large part is how we respond to our life experiences.  Having said that, the heroine isn’t me –  she’s generally thinner, prettier, stronger and smarter – but she’s in part me.  You can learn a lot about an author from her work.  Her likes, dislikes, philosophy of life, are all left on the page.

 

6. What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?

My latest release is The Deepest Dark.   Telling you a bit about it seems the best way to answer this question.

 Following the deaths of her husband, Corey, and ten year old daughter Ellie in a traffic accident, author Abby Miller sinks ever deeper into depression. She contemplates suicide as a way to be with them, and to end her unrelenting pain.

In a last desperate effort to find peace, she drives to Loon Lake where they last vacationed together, wanting to believe they will be waiting for her there. At least in spirit. Barring that, the pills Doctor Gregory gave her to help her sleep, are in her purse.

The cabin at Loon Lake was her and Corey’s secret hideaway, and not even Abby’s sister, Karen, to whom she is close, knows where it is. But someone else does. He is one of three men who have escaped from Pennington prison. They are dangerous predators who will stop at nothing to get what they want - and to keep from going back to prison. Having already committed the worst of crimes, they have nothing to lose.

Unknowingly, Abby is on a collision course with evil itself. And the decision of whether to live or die will soon be wrenched from her hands.

 

7. What are you working on now?

I’ve just begun making notes for Gone Missing (a working title) about a woman whose husband has disappeared seemingly, into thin air.    

 

8. How can people find you?

                Website:  http://www.joanhallhovey.com

                Blog

                Twitter:  https://twitter.com/joanhh

                Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/joan.h.hovey

The Deepest Dark: http://amzn.com/B00K9E7EHY    

  

Just a few Lines from The Abduction of Mary Rose by Joan Hall Hovey

This week, a few lines from The Abduction of Mary Rose by Joan Hall Hovey

The teenage girl hurried along the darkening street, head down in a vain attempt to divert attention from herself as she headed for her bus stop, still over a block away. The car behind her was a soft growl in the still, warm air.  The day was fast fading, the sky a light mauve, only a sprinkling of stars yet. Soon it would be dark... Ignore them, she told herself. But it was impossible to do with the car following so close that the heat from the motor brushed her bare legs, like a monster's breath.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Abduction-Mary-Rose-ebook/dp/B005M4W22I/

Victoria Chatham follows me next week.

 

Saturday's Chapter from The Abduction of Mary Rose by Joan Hall Hovey

Excerpt: THE ABDUCTION OF MARY ROSE








Chapter One



1982



The teenage girl hurried along the darkening street, head down in a vain attempt to divert attention from herself as she headed for her bus stop, still over a block away. The car behind her was a soft growl in the still, warm air.



It was mid-June, only two weeks till school closed. The air was fragrant with the smell of lilacs that grew here and there along the street. She wore a jean skirt and white cotton shirt, and yet she felt as exposed and vulnerable as if she were naked. She was anticipating the freedom of summer and thinking about spending more time with her new friend Lisa, when she became of aware of the car following her. She had been thinking maybe she and Lisa would swim in the pond edged with the tall reeds, near her house where she sometimes fished with her grandfather. She'd let grandfather meet Lisa. She knew he would like her. It would be impossible not to like Lisa, even though her grandfather didn't quite trust white people.



The growl of the motor grew louder, and she heard the window whisper open on the passenger side, close to her. "Where you goin' in such a hurry, sweet thing?"



She didn't turn around, just kept on her way toward the bus stop, one foot in front of the other, as fast as she could go without running. Music thumped loudly from the car radio, pounding its beat into the night. It was not music she would have listened to, not like the music they'd played on Lisa's tape player tonight, and that she and Lisa had danced to in Lisa's room. Lisa had tried to teach her some new steps; it had been so much fun. They danced to songs by Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross' Mirror, Mirror and a bunch more she couldn't even remember. Lisa had a lot of records.



The music that blasted from the car sounded angry and unpleasant. The car drew up so close to her she could smell the alcohol the men had been drinking, mixed in with the gas fumes.



The car edged even closer to the curb, and the man said something ugly and dirty out the window to her and his words made her face burn, made her feel ashamed as if she had done something wrong though she knew she hadn't. She pretended not to hear, made herself look straight ahead, her eyes riveted on the yellow band around the distant pole that was the bus stop, just up past the graveyard. She kept moving forward, one foot in front of the other, trying not to look scared, and prayed they would go away. Fear made her heart race.



The day was fast fading, the sky a light mauve, only a sprinkling of stars yet. Soon it would be dark. She was always home before dark. Grandfather would be worried. A few more minutes and you'll be at the bus stop, she told herself. Ignore them. But it was impossible to do with the car following so close that the heat from the motor brushed her bare legs, like a monster's breath.



The car crawled along beside her. She moved as far away as she could get, but the pavement was next to none along here and broken. "Hey, sweet thing," the man said. "You trying to get away from us." He laughed.



Despite herself, she turned her head and looked straight into the man's face. He was grinning out at her, showing his square, white teeth, causing her heart to pound even louder than the music. He made her think of the coyotes that sometimes came skulking around grandfather's house at night hunting for small cats and dogs. No. I am wrong. He is not like the coyotes. They are just being coyotes. It is a noble animal. An evil spirit dwells within this beast. One tied with the most fragile of chains. She could feel him straining toward her, teeth bared. She would not have been surprised to see foam coming from his mouth.



Softly, he said, "Hey, Pocahontas, want a ride?"



Feeling as if a hand were at her throat, she darted a look behind her, praying to see someone, anyone, who might help her, but the street was deserted. She'd left the row of wooden houses behind her a good ten minutes ago and was now at River's End Cemetery. There was no sidewalk at all here, just the dirt path, broken curb on her left and the empty field to her right, leading up into the graveyard. If a car comes along, she thought, I'll just run right out into the middle of the road and flag it down. But none did. She visualized herself safely inside the bus and on her way home to Salmon Cove, to her grandfather's small blue house on the reservation. She would tell him all about Lisa, her new best friend from school. Her grandfather would smile at her, and be pleased for her and call her his little Sisup. She fingered the pendant around her neck that he had made for her, a kind of talisman. To keep evil spirits away.



Grandfather didn't always understand the white man's world though, and there would be worry on his weathered face because she was not home yet. But she would make them a pot of tea and they would talk, and he would forget his worry. She was still focused on the bus stop, the utility pole marked by its wide yellow band. With the car so close, the thrum of the motor vibrating through her, the bus stop seemed a mile away. She walked faster, a chill sweeping through her body. She was forced now to walk on the slight incline that led up to the graveyard. Only the ruined curb separated her from her tormentors.



A taxi fled past, but she'd been so intent on getting to the bus stop she'd noticed it too late. It had been going so fast, out of sight already, just pinpoints of taillights in the distance, then nothing.



"Hey, what's your hurry, squawgirl?"



She gave no answer, swallowed, and kept going. When the man did not speak for several minutes, she became even more frightened by his silence than his talk. The boys at school sometimes called her Indian, and other dumb stuff like pretending to be beating on war drums, or doing a rain dance, and though it hurt her feelings and sometimes even made her cry, this was different. The boys thought they were being funny. Not so with this man. She could feel his contempt, even hatred for her, and something else, something that made her mouth and throat dry and her blood race faster. As she continued to put one foot in front of the other on the worn, rocky path edging the graveyard, she was very careful not to stumble and become like the wounded deer under the hungry eye of the wolf, she kept her eyes on the pole with its yellow band. In the darkening sky, a high white moon floated.



Everything in her wanted to break into a run, but a small voice warned her that it would not be a wise thing to do. Anyway, no way could she outrun a car. Why did the bus stop seem so far away? It was like a bad dream, where no matter how fast you run you don't go anywhere, and whatever is behind you ... draws closer and closer.



She shouldn't have stayed so long at Lisa's. But they'd been having such fun, just talking and listening to music, sharing secrets. It was nice to have a best friend, to feel like any other teenager. But you're not like any other teenager. You're an Indian. She should have listened to her grandfather.



The man spoke again. "C'mon, get in, Pocahontas," he said, his tone quiet, chilling her. "We'll have us a little party." He reached a hand out the open window and she shrank from his touch, stumbled, nearly fell, tears blinding her. She heard the driver laugh, a nervous laugh and she knew he was a follower of the other man. There was an exchanged murmur of words she couldn't make out, then, the car angled ever closer to her, wheels scraping the curb, making her jump back.



"Got something for you, sweetheart," the grinning man said. "You'll like it."



More laughter, but only from him now. Adrenaline rushed through her and she started to run, ignoring the warning voice. But it was too late. The car shrieked to a stop and instantly the door flew open and the man burst from the car and grabbed her. She screamed and fought to free herself from the steel arm clamped around her waist, but it was no use. She kicked and clawed at him, but he lifted her off her feet as if she were a rag doll and threw her into the back seat, and scrambled in after her. He shut the door and hit the lock. "Go," he yelled at the driver but the car remained idling. The man looked over his shoulder, started to say something but the man holding her down yelled at him a second time to go, louder, furious, and they took off on squealing tires.



"Please let me out," she begged. "Please…" Her pleas were cut off by a powerful back-hand across the mouth, filling it with the warm, coppery taste of blood. "Gisoolg, help me," she cried out, calling on the spiritual god of her grandfather, and of his grandfather before him. But no answer came.



Up in the graveyard, an owl screeched as it too swooped down on its night prey. And all fell silent.

How She Does It with Joan Hall Hovey

Haven't met Joan but I have read and enjoyed her books. We're fellow authors at Books We Love, a great place to be.


We all know there are six elements in writing fiction and often fact. Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. I believe the first five lead to the sixth which for me is the plot. What's your take on this?


You're absolutely right, Janet. We do need to answer all those questions for the reader, but I'm an intuitive writer and tend to answer them in large part on a subconscious level as the novel evolves.

My books are generally rooted in childhood. I draw on my life for inspiration and an emotional connection. Then I'm off and running. The seeds for Night Corridor, for example, were planted in my childhood. On Sundays, I went with my grandmother to visit an aunt in the mental institution, once called The Lunatic Asylum. She'd spent much of her life within those walls. They said she was 'melancholy'. Though the sprawling, prison-like building has long since been torn down, the sights, sounds and smells of the place infiltrated the senses of the 12 year old girl I was, and never left. Night Corridor is not about my Aunt Alice, but it was indeed inspired by her.



https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6rFhMgKtTUXGBVbS3kFcFbDp6X1YEaBYCOh55O3-vwWPXGkRCwqcoYkar-4bbQlw8olfqxkiMLh6ctpn8-niQeW5bWHTt7MwsVu8DT8LXBKLI6gO4r8BjSJPikfzBcsO52RehMKj4xU/s1600/The+Abduction+of+Mary+Rose+book+cover.jpgMy latest novel The Abduction of Mary Rose was inspired by a true story as well. After her adopted mother dies of cancer, Naomi Waters learns from a malicious aunt that she is a child of a brutal rape. Her birth mother, a teenager of MicMac ancestry, lay in a coma for eight months before giving birth to Naomi, and died five days later. Feeling angry and betrayed, but with new purpose in her life, Naomi vows to track down the man responsible and bring him to justice.



1. How do you create your characters? Do you have a specific process?

I think about them for a long time, particularly my main character and let her settle into my imagination. I hear her speak, listen to the nuances, zone in on the gestures she makes, the way she walks. Kind of like getting to know someone in real life. At first they are shadowy figures, gradually taking on more personality and clarity as you come to know them. And like those who become old friends, she tells you her secrets, her passions, her pain, her fears. (Because I’m writing suspense, this is important to me.)



2. Do your characters come before the plot? Do you sketch out your plot or do you let the characters develop the route to the end?



I don't write an actual outline because I want the novel to flow organically as much as possible, but I do make copious notes and do a lot of cerebral outlining.

In the end, I don’t think you can separate character and plot. They are interwoven. With suspense, I am always aware of the thread in my story and I hold it taut, letting it out a little at a time, but never letting the thread go slack. It should grow tighter and tighter until it fairly sings. This is what constitutes a page-turner. It’s a promise I make to my readers and one I take very seriously. Reviews tell me I’ve succeeded for the most part, and that makes me happy.



3. Do you know how the story will end before you begin? In a general way or a specific one?



I do have an idea generally of how the story will end, but only generally. If I’m surprised there’s a good chance my reader will be. A good beginning is one that draws the reader into your story. A good ending is one that has her/him reaching for your next book. Or more often these days, downloading it.

4. Do you choose settings you know or do you have books of settings and plans of houses sitting around?



My novels are set in fictional towns that could be anywhere in New Brunswick or Maine, since the flora and fauna are similar. Although I did set part of Nowhere To Hide (Eppie Award) in New York. I researched the city but I also spent time there. But New Brunswick, which lies on the Bay of Fundy, Canada, is part of my DNA. And the town where I live, whose streets and hills and shops are bred in my bones, is probably in essence where all my novels are set, whatever fictional name I give them. However, I did set my second novel 'Nowhere To Hide' partially in New York city. I'd been there so I had a general idea of The Big Apple, but also picked up a copy of Bantam's New York City.



5. Where do you do your research? On line or from books?

Both. I have several books on psychology and forensics. Two I recently purchased are ‘Police Procedure & Investigation and ‘The Writers Guide to Psychology’ by Carolyn Kaufman, Psy.D. But I’ve always been a student of human behavior, in particular the dark side of humanity, which is probably why I'm drawn to write suspense novels as a way to explore these themes.

I'm also a big fan of Google. Since I tend to research on a need to know basis, sometimes I go straight to the source. For example, when I wanted to know what color bodybags are, I phoned our city morgue. They’re dark green. Or at least they were at the time. I think you can get them now in dark blue, if anyone needed to know that. -:)

6. Are you a draft writer or do you revise as you go along and why?



I write numerous drafts and also revise as I go along. Lots of trial and error. That`s probably why it takes me a long time to finish a novel. But that`s where the challenge is and writing novels isn't a race. In letting the novel evolve as it should, and not forcing anything, you have a chance of writing a good book. At the same time, you must exert some kind of control so you don`t end up all like the guy who `flung himself on his horse and rode madly off in all directions`. I've done that too.

There's a fine line.

Thanks for inviting me today, Janet. I enjoyed being with you.

Joan

visit me at: www.joanhallhovey.com

Find my books here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Abduction-Mary-Rose-ebook/dp/B005M4W22I/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1357831772&sr=1-5&keywords=joan+hall+hovey

Thursday - Who I'm Reading - Joan Hall Hovey

I'll admit to reading suspense and liking it. Lately I've been reading Joan Hovey and she writes suspense that has you biting your nails. So far I've read Chill Waters, so far my very favorite of them all. Her heroine doesn't give up but neither do any of her other heroines. Nowhere To Hide is a great revenge story and a chilling read. The Abduction of Mary Rose interested me because of the subject of adoption and finding roots. I have an adopted daughter and we have no idea of her roots. I've also read Listen to the Shadows and there's one more on my reading list to go. I'll read it soon and become so rapt in the prose and the suspense I'll probably scream is someone says hello. I've heard she's writing a new one and I'll buy it to.

If you like suspense, pick up one of Joan's books and you'll become addicted. When I've read throuh all the books on my Kindle, I'll re-read these books and see what I can learn about developing suspense from a master.